A Second Life
by VinEsquire
Summary: An alternate ending to the TNG episode "Tapestry."
1. Relay 47

Written: April 7, 2012

Title: A second life

Author's note: the following jumps off from the point in the TNG 6th season episode "Tapestry" about four-fifths of the way through, after Picard has spoken with Riker and Troi in Ten-Forward.

Lieutenant junior grade Jean-Luc Picard stepped into the turbolift after having a frank discussion about his Starfleet career with Commander William T. Riker and Counselor Deanna Troi. It was clear to him that he was only a shadow of the person he once was.

He vented in the privacy of the turbolift, and yelled at Q to put an end to the charade. But like in Ten Forward, he received no response from Q. Picard would live out the rest of his days as an assistant astrophysics officer in Starfleet.

* * *

After the senior officer's meeting in the captain's ready room, Commander Riker walked down a corridor along with Geordi La Forge.

"Geordi, do you have a minute?" asked Riker. "It's a personnel matter."

"Sure," said Geordi.

"What is your opinion of Lieutenant Jean-Luc Picard?" asked Riker.

"That's weird, why would you mention him?" asked Geordi.

"Why is that weird?" asked Riker.

"Earlier today, he delivered a spectral analysis to Engineering. I was in the middle of a couple of other things. There was something causing a power spike in the starboard warp coil."

"And?"

"And, he actually took some time to make a few suggestions. At the time, it seemed like more of an intrusion. I think he suggested flushing the transfer conduits with trioxina. It didn't seem like an appropriate course of action. I gently let him know that we would be able to handle it ourselves."

"And the recommendation turned out to be a good one?"

"Well, no," said Geordi. "But it happened that a few minutes later, one of my other diagnostic engineers made a similar suggestion. I gave it a little bit more consideration. In the end, we figured out the problem. But I started to wonder a tiny bit whether I was too brusque with Lieutenant Picard. He does fine work, but doesn't often interject with his own thoughts. It was something new."

"So he took some initiative?"

"I guess you could say that. Why? I know he's trying to make full lieutenant this year. Is he showing some potential?"

"Not yet, but I've been looking through his personnel file," said Riker. "He had promise. I'm not sure where he went wrong."

"Let's just hope we don't have another Broccoli on our hands," said Geordi. Lieutenant junior grade Reginald Barclay was a brilliant engineer who had some issues with his social interactions. It turned out he had a holo-addiction. It was a big enough distraction that Geordi's performance review for Barclay once noted that the lieutenant was "always late, never gives his best effort, and just slides by." Captain Halloway was not pleased. Barclay was transferred to an engineering research lab back on Earth. It was thought he would be happier there, especially since he would be allowed to work on his pet projects alone. Last Geordi heard, Barclay was running some pretty impressive experiments. Not everyone was cut out for teamwork, but Barclay could be quite brilliant when left alone.

"No," said Riker. "I don't think social awkwardness is Picard's Achilles heel. He just doesn't seem to have as much drive as he used to. He was an ambitious cadet. Sometime after graduating, he lost his determination. But it seems like something recently lit a fire under his butt."

"After a few decades in uniform. It's about time," said Geordi.

"Oh, right. I was going to ask you. Do you have any roster slots in any of your engineering teams?"

"Not right now," said Geordi.

"I see," said Riker. "Well, please let me know if you get an opening for a junior officer."

"Sure," said Geordi. "You might try Data and his operations team. He's got a small group, but maybe there's something Picard could do."

"Thanks."

The two officers parted ways and Riker thought about what he should do with Lieutenant Junior Grade Picard.

* * *

Jean-Luc Picard sat down at his desk and reviewed more astrophysics reports. He shared an office with another junior lieutenant. A somewhat younger oceanography officer in her late-30s. She even had a doctorate! The office next to theirs belonged to the section chief, a lieutenant about Picard's age, who was an expert in the field of paleontology. Picard suddenly noticed how many of the junior officers were incredibly knowledgeable in their fields.

Commander Riker stopped by the office. Riker was rarely in this part of the ship.

Picard got up from his chair.

"Commander Riker," he said. He was surprised to see Will Riker here.

"Lieutenant Lipinski, so you think you can excuse us while I have a conversation with Lieutenant Picard?"

"Absolutely, sir," said Lipinski. She smiled at Riker as she stepped out of the office and he smiled back.

Riker turned Lipinski's chair to face Picard's work station.

"Please, lieutenant, take a seat."

Picard sat down in his own chair.

"I would like to discuss with you a possible temporary assignment," said Riker. If he could find a new position for Lt. Barclay where the shy lieutenant seemed to excel, he was sure he could do something for Picard. At the very least, Picard was punctual, dedicated, and reliable.

Picard was intrigued. He had been certain that he would spend the rest of his life as a low-level assistant science officer.

"Now, I will say, this post is not very glamorous at all, but it is something that needs to be done. I will not order you to take this new post. As I told you before in Ten-Forward, you're a good officer. I would hate to lose you on the _Enterprise_."

"You're transferring me off the _Enterprise_?" asked Picard, a little bit shocked.

"Only if you want this. I've been thinking about a position for you that might give you a little bit more visibility. A little bit more responsibility," said Riker. "Unfortunately, we don't have any positions onboard at this moment"

"So I would need to transfer to another ship."

"Well…" said Riker.

Picard wasn't happy with the development, but he wanted to hear Riker out.

"A few weeks ago, the _Enterprise_ was tasked to re-supply two remote relay stations near the Klingon border. Relay Station 47 and Relay Station 194."

"I remember that," said Picard.

"You might also remember that while everything was fine at 194, RS-47 was found to be abandoned and in disarray. We found blood and signs of a struggle, but we never figured out what happened."

Picard wasn't exactly sure where this was going.

"Starfleet is having some trouble staffing RS-47," said Riker. "Although we suspected foul play, there was no evidence to conclusively determine whether the Klingons were involved. We have some records that suggest a Klingon attack cruiser had harassed the station and even once locked its weapons on the station. The Klingon commander, Morag, insists that he is not responsible for the disappearance of our two Starfleet officers."

Riker watched Picard to see how he was digesting this information.

"I'm going to cut to the chase. We need someone to staff the relay station. Thus far, we've been able to handle almost all of the comm traffic through RS-194, but that will change very soon when we have an expedition planned and three ships will be sending regular reports. We need RS-47 to be up and running at least at half-strength."

"And you'd like to assign me to RS-47?" asked Picard.

"Only if you'd want to. We've been having trouble getting some of the more experienced communications officers to volunteer, as they are afraid of the proximity to the Klingon border and the recent suspicion that the Klingons were responsible for the disappearance of the former crewmembers. I saw in your file that you served as the communications officer on the _U.S.S. Stargazer_ for a few years back when you were an ensign. I realize that position no longer exists on the typical starship and the communications relay is different technology than what you used many years ago. But you may be suitable for this position."

"And you feel this might be a step up in my career ladder?" asked Picard.

Riker nodded. "I think it would be one of many steps that you would have to succeed at, but yes, it would be good for you to take this, Jean-Luc. It would show you are taking initiative, volunteering for duty that others feel is potentially dangerous. Like I said, it may not be glamorous duty, but it is an essential task. The downside is that I think I would have to assign you alone, as we are already having a hard time staffing. That might be less than ideal for you. But it should only be a 6-month temporary assignment. Afterwards, Starfleet Command is certain they will get appropriate relief officers. You would return to the _Enterprise_."

"Who would take over at astrophysics?" asked Picard.

"I think we'd try to split your duties between three of your colleagues while you were on temporary assignment. Keller in astronomy and Michaels in quantum mechanics have agreed to the possible extra workload."

Picard wondered if this meant that he was truly not that important. If he could just be re-assigned and others could pick up the slack, then maybe he wasn't as essential and he wished he was.

"And after the temporary assignment, I will return to astrophysics?" asked Picard.

"Yes. But you will also be in line for promotion to full lieutenant. In addition, while it is hard to predict these things, there is a possibility that your current section chief might be promoted soon. In that event, you might find yourself as one of the candidates to replace him."

"All this just for volunteering for a 6 month stint at a relay station?" asked Picard. He was wondering whether there was really more to it. Perhaps it was significantly more dangerous than appeared. Although, as Captain Picard from a previous timeline, he already knew that a shapeshifting alien was to blame for the previous crew's disappearance, not the Klingons. He thought about suggesting that to Riker, but then thought he would look a little bit insane as he would not be able to explain his suspicions. He also wondered whether Riker was overselling the assignment to get him off the _Enterprise_. Although Riker was a good person, Picard knew he could be a little tough with his subordinates on occasion.

"Like I said, these are only possibilities. I can't promise you will be pushed up to section chief. I can say your promotion to full lieutenant will look a lot more likely. Even if you remain in astrophysics, it would be nice to be promoted, right?" asked Riker. "In addition to you showing that you are willing to task yourself to a duty station that is seen as dangerous, it will also show your self-reliance. Your ability to be a self-starter, since you will not be supervised on a daily basis or even weekly basis. Showing initiative is important and this would put that on your personnel file."

"I see," said Picard as he thought about it.

"You don't have to answer me right now," said Riker. "I'll come back tomorrow. If you take it, that would be great. If not, that would be fine as well. Like I said, I don't want to lose you on the _Enterprise_. At the same time, I don't see any openings in any of the departments here for a long while. If you don't take this, I don't see a viable way to recommend you as a candidate for your section chief's position, if it should even open up."

Riker got up and headed toward the door.

"Thank you for your thoughts, Commander," said Picard.

"Not a problem," said Riker. "I do hope for success in your future."

* * *

Jean-Luc Picard emptied one of his personal bags as he unpacked in his new quarters. Riker had reassured him that Picard's old quarters would be kept for him for his return, although Picard didn't very much care. They weren't the _Enterprise_'s captain's quarters which he had been used to for the past few years.

There was a brief going away party for Jean-Luc. His officemate and his section chief had wished him good luck and a safe stint on RS-47. There were vanilla cupcakes involved. Other members of the sciences division came to wish Jean-Luc a safe assignment, although they did not all know him very well.

Jean-Luc was a little surprised that it didn't really phase him how small the relay station was. Perhaps in time it would. He had thought it might feel as if he were serving on a small shuttlecraft for 6 months. Maybe it still might. But the station was a little bit roomier than a shuttle. Perhaps a Danube-class runabout. The station had four main rooms, and a small shuttlebay.

After he unpacked, he walked into the communications control room. It was fairly large. This was what he was in charge of. The commanding officer, of a station of one.

He chuckled briefly at the thought.

"Well, you wanted a command," said Picard to himself. "Here you are."

He suddenly received a communication from the _Enterprise_.

"Lieutenant Picard," came Riker's voice.

"Here, Commander," said Picard.

"I hope you will have a productive and safe stint at 47," said Riker. "The _Enterprise_ is about to head off."

"Acknowledged," said Picard.

"One extra thing," said Riker. "We were able to assign an additional crewman to 47, but his stay will be only about a month or so before he is to be rotated to 194. We're beaming him over now."

Picard watched as a Starfleet crewman beamed into the communication control room.

"Good luck, Jean-Luc," said Riker. "See you in 6 months."

The comm channel then went dead.

A young man in a blue sciences division uniform walked over to Picard to introduce himself.

"Crewman First Class Simon Tarses, sir," said the young man.

"Picard. Jean-Luc Picard."

The two of them shook hands.

* * *

In the next two weeks, Picard fulfilled his duties reliably and thoroughly. Nothing too spectacular. Just make sure the messages got to where they were intended to go. He was a 24th century mailboy.

He kept up his contact with his officemate and his section chief back on the Enterprise. He spoke with his officemate about once a day and with his section chief just a couple of time since he was posted on 47. Sometimes, when the communications consoles weren't too busy, Picard would look over some sensor analyses from the _Enterprise_ to try and help out the three scientists who were assigned to cover his workload for the time being. He was able to provide some assistance two reports. In his other free time, he would try to enjoy some novels from the 20th century. Picard joined Tarses for a meal at least once a day in the crew lounge.

"So, what could you have possibly done to get yourself punished and sent to this remote station to perform mundane tasks?" asked Picard.

"Were you punished?" asked Tarses.

"Not exactly," said Picard. "I volunteered." He said the last word in a little bit of a sarcastic tone, but wasn't sure if Tarses picked it up.

"I volunteered as well," said a smiling Tarses. He was not being sarcastic.

In their conversation, Picard learned that Simon Tarses had wanted to serve in Starfleet since he was a child. He enlisted as a crewman and became a medical technician under Dr. Beverly Crusher. A couple of years ago, Tarses had gotten caught up in an espionage incident. It was eventually discovered that Tarses was actually one-quarter Romulan, instead of one-quarter Vulcan as he had stated on his Starfleet entrance application. Although he was found to not have been involved in the espionage, lying in his documentation was punishable by discharge from Starfleet. The JAG prosecutor decided not to press any charges and instead, Tarses received administrative reprimand and a demotion to crewman.

"You made it back to crewman first class," said Picard. "That's good."

"Only after I agreed to take a three month stint on the Klingon border. One month here and then two months on 194," said Tarses. "Even though my specialty is medical technician, they said they couldn't rotate any communications technicians out here for a while."

Picard nodded.

Picard wondered whether RS-194 was currently only staffed with one officer. He checked quietly and found out that there were currently two, but that the junior officer there was scheduled to rotate back to a shipboard billet in a few weeks.

Picard's thoughts were interrupted.

"Sir, it looks like we're being approached by a Klingon attack cruiser. She's hailing," said Tarses.

Picard tapped a blinking light on his console.

"I am Commander Morag of the Klingon Defense Force, captain of the _I.K.S. Qu'Vat_. With whom am I speaking?"

"I am Jean-Luc Picard, the officer in charge of this station."

"And what, may I ask, is your mission, Officer-in-charge Picard?"

"We're a communications relay station," said Picard.

"If I find out you are spying on Klingon communications across the border, I will obliterate your station," said Morag.

"Noted," said Picard. "Now, if you'll please vacate Federation space."

Morag grunted disapproval and then closed the communications channel.

Picard wasn't phased. Although the station clearly had no weapons with which to defend itself, he didn't seem alarmed. At least, not on the outside.

Simon Tarses, surprisingly, also wasn't very frightened.

"Are you okay?" asked Picard.

"Yes, sir," said Tarses. "Typical Klingon bullying tactic. If they had meant to destroy us, they would have."

Picard was surprised at how confident and calm the young man was.

* * *

Dr. Beverly Crusher's final report on the mystery at Relay Station 47 was one of the rare instances in which the case was left open. Or, by now, the more appropriate label was that the case was left cold. She was not able to figure out whether the cellular residue found at RS-47 was the remains of one of the officers. Since the station's shuttlecraft was missing, the Enterprise's senior staff presumed that one of the officers stole the shuttlecraft and ran away after killing the other officer. The question was, which of the officers was dead, and which ran away. It was always possible that perhaps the two officers together killed someone, and then both of them ran away. Perhaps a Klingon was involved in some way. The last theory would be that both officers were killed, and a Klingon stole the shuttlecraft. There were too many questions surrounding this incident.

Commander Riker asked Crusher and La Forge to meet him in shuttlebay one.

"When did they deliver her?" asked La Forge.

"Just a couple of hours ago," said Riker.

"And it was abandoned?" asked Crusher.

"So they say," said Riker. "Although, that seems highly unlikely. I don't think there is a habitable planet anywhere near here within the shuttlecraft's range."

The Klingons had recently delivered the shuttlecraft _Verne_ to the _Enterprise_, after Starfleet made an official inquiry as to why a Klingon Defense Force ship was harassing a Starfleet relay station in Federation space. Starfleet Command also accused the Klingons of killing the crewmembers and stealing the shuttlecraft. The Klingon commander of the cruiser which harassed the former crewmembers admitted that he beamed onto the station and when he found nobody there, he tried to steal some encrypted Starfleet communications. He did not kill anyone or steal the shuttlecraft. The shuttlecraft _Verne_ was found several days after the _Enterprise_ arrived, but Klingon High Command thought it prudent to keep it hushed in the exact event that it would raise suspicion that the Klingons were responsible for the crew's deaths.

For now, Starfleet still had no convincing evidence that the Klingons were behind the disappearances of the former crew of RS-47.

* * *

"What do you mean they are gone?" asked Morag. He was slightly annoyed and his lieutenant was clearly at least a little bit frightened.

"The female Starfleet officer, and two Klingons. They just… disappeared."

The junior lieutenant from Relay Station 47 was found on the shuttlecraft _Verne_, along with her pet dog. She was imprisoned for crossing into Klingon territory, possibly on a mission of espionage. Then, a few days ago, the facility where she was held reported that they could no longer find her or her animal pet. Two of the Klingon guards were also missing.

"The scene investigation techs were able to find traces of cell residue in two separate places. They are analyzing it now," said the lieutenant.

"Cell residue?" asked Morag.

"Yes, we think it is what remains of our Klingon guards."

"What is the lead investigator's theory?"

"It's a little bit far-fetched, but we think this may have been a bio-chemical weapon Starfleet was developing. Lure us into capturing one of them, and when they are in Klingon custody, release the toxin. We're not sure if it spreads through the air or by contact."

"Cunning," said Morag, with disgust but also a little bit with surprising admiration. While poison was a coward's weapon, he did not think the humans would be so proficient in killing.

* * *

Simon Tarses' five weeks at Relay Station 47 were up. A small civilian transport just arrived to pick him up and ferry him to Relay Station 194.

"It was a pleasure serving here with you," said Tarses.

"You were a good assistant," said Picard. Although Picard had said such things to many junior officers in his former life as a starship captain, he imagined that this was the first time Lieutenant Junior Grade Picard had ever said such a thing.

"Good luck with section chief," said Tarses.

"Good luck to you as well."

Simon was beamed off the relay station and the civilian transport went into full impulse, leaving Picard all alone on RS-47.

Picard took a peek into Simon's room, to make sure everything was squared away in the event Starfleet found another officer or crewman to assign here. To his surprise, he found a sketch left on the table. Everything else in the room was neat and Tarses appeared to have taken all of his other personal effects with him.

Picard opened the sketchpad, and found a sketch of two officers standing together. It was Picard and Tarses. In the background was the communication control room. Picard made a mental note to get the sketch back to Tarses, but later found a note addressed to him.

"Dear Lieutenant Picard,

It was an excellent short assignment here on Relay Station 47. You are one of the few officers who did not seem bothered my by partial Romulan heritage. You were great company to talk to and I can tell you will make a good section chief back on the _Enterprise_. If I am re-posted there, I will make a point to visit you. Please keep this portrait as a souvenir of my time here. I have two others in my main sketchbook.

Ex astris scientia,

Simon."

Flipping the page, Picard also found a couple of drawings of microorganisms. One looked to be some sort of paramecium. He took the two sketches and the note, and brought them to his own quarters.

* * *

"Something new?" asked Commander Riker.

Dr. Crusher had asked Riker to meet her in sickbay. She showed him the duplicate of her hand. Riker was confused.

"What is it?" asked Riker.

"It's my hand," said Crusher. She explained that while examining the cellular residue for the 10th or so time, she accidentally came into contact with it. Having touched her hand, the residue started to take the shape of her hand. She believes that the residue is not the remains of Lieutenant Rocha, the former senior lieutenant in charge of RS-47. It is some sort of shapeshifting life form that feeds off other organisms.

Riker wasn't sure if the Relay Station 47 mystery just got solved, or just got deeper. Probably a little bit of both.

* * *

"What is it you want this time?" asked Picard.

The Klingon attack cruiser returned to harass Picard and his relay station. This time, Picard sent out a distress signal. He wasn't sure why the Klingons were so interested in the small communications relay.

"It dawned on me, officer-in-charge Picard, you wear a blue Starfleet uniform," said Morag.

"That's correct. I do," replied Picard.

"That makes you a scientist, right?"

"It does."

"And… what type of science do you do?" asked Morag. There was genuine curiosity in his voice. "Communications relay science?"

"Not quite," said Picard as he shook his head. "I'm officially an astrophysics officer. I'm temporarily assigned here."

"Astrophysics," said Morag, a little bit of disbelief in his voice. "Tell me, Picard, do you conduct science experiments on your station?" Morag was somewhat confident that there wasn't actually a science lab in the small station. But he wanted to see Picard's reaction to the question.

"No," answered Picard. "Why are you asking these questions? What does this have to do with the Klingons? You've crossed into Federation space once again. Why?"

Picard was a little bit nervous now. He hoped it wasn't visible, but he had a bad feeling about this encounter.

Unbeknownst to Picard, Morag was here to avenge the death of one of his cousins. In total thus far, four Klingons had disappeared and were presumed dead.

"Do you know what I think?" asked Morag.

"What would that be?" asked Picard.

"I think you are no astrophysics officer or communications officer," said Morag. "I think you are a biological weapons scientist in Starfleet."

"Come again?" asked a puzzled Picard.

"I think you are a part of a biological weapons research program at Starfleet. I think I'm going to destroy your tiny outpost, Officer-in-charge Picard. And I think you've breathed your last breath."

Before Picard could answer, the channel was cut off. Picard watched a sensor display indicate that the Klingon cruiser had fired its phasers full blast at the small station.

* * *

Picard opens his eyes to find himself in the bright white limbo where he was after he had allegedly been killed on an away mission.

"Mon Capitan," said Q. "It's a little soon to be seeing you here again."

Picard was dead once again.

"I gave you something human beings never get… a chance to change something in their past for a better life. Yet you didn't take advantage of that. Such a shame."

"I don't understand, what was the point of this whole charade?"

"The Jean-Luc Picard you wanted to be, the one who didn't fight the Nausicaan and get stabbed through the heart, never understood how fragile life was, and how important each moment can be. So he never took initiative. He never seized an opportunity when it was presented. He played it safe his entire life. He would have lived many more years with a real heart beating in his chest, living out the rest of his life in relative safety."

"Then why am I here?" asked Picard.

"Because you changed, mon capitan. You saw the 'safe' you, and didn't like it. So you took on a risk. You accepted a potentially dangerous post near the border of the Klingon Empire where the former crew was presumed to have been killed. Now, that doesn't sound like the safe person you wanted to be. That sounds a little like the reckless youth who got stabbed through the heart by a Nausicaan."

"Surely there must be a balanced midpoint between reckless youth and a life avoiding all risk?" insisted Picard.

"Yes, there is. And you eventually found that balance later in life. But make no mistake, mon capitan. Your experience with the Nausicaan was crucial in forming your personality. It is a part of who you became. It is a part of who you are."

With that, Picard all of a sudden found himself face to face with a tall Nausicaan once again. This time, he wouldn't back down. He would stand up for his friends the same way he did in his original timeline. A fight ensues, and Picard is stabbed through his heart by a Nausicaan blade. As he sees the blade come out of his chest, he laughs.

Picard is then on the operating table in sickbay aboard the _U.S.S. Enterprise-D_. Dr. Crusher tells him is going to be okay.

Later, after he has recovered, he is talking with Riker. Picard isn't sure if the whole thing was just a dream that many who experience near-death situations have claimed to have. Or perhaps it really was Q's doing. Either way, he is glad to have come to the realization that although there are some things from his youth that he wasn't always proud of, those experiences probably helped shape him into the man he is today.


	2. The Pegasus

Hi! Thank you for reading chapter 2 of Picard's "Second Life."

Although I meant for the first chapter to be a stand-alone one-shot, I was surprised by a subtle suggestion to continue the story. Here is my best shot, and I kind of "cheated" with an emergency beam-out to save Picard's life last second. I intend for this chapter to be the last, but I guess you never know!

Some background info:

The first chapter took place mostly in the episode 6x15 Tapestry, with a lot of elements from 6x13 regarding Relay Station 47.

This second chapter takes place in episode 7x12 The Pegasus, with a character from 6x19 Lessons, and a brief mention of the incident in 5x24 The Next Phase.

Hope you enjoy!

* * *

Chapter written May 2012

* * *

Commander Riker sat in the brig and watched as his captain lowered the forcefield.

Admiral Erik Pressman had been transferred to another Starfleet ship and would face a Board of Inquiry into his experimentation with the interphasic cloaking device.

After walking out of the brig, the _Enterprise_'s top two officers continued talking.

"I remember about a year ago, when you had the brief malfunction with your artificial heart, you saw a version of yourself after having made a different decision from your youth that you later regretted," said Riker.

"I did, and I didn't like that version. My youth may have been littered with mistakes, but they are all little bits of what made me the person I am today," said Picard, recalling the dream he had during his near death experience. Or perhaps it was a visit from Q. He never did figure out exactly what it was.

"I kind of wonder what would have happened if twelve years ago, a young Ensign Will Riker did not assist Captain Pressman but instead tried to stop the experiment," said Riker.

"For all you know," said Picard, "you may have ended up like a lot of your shipmates who perished."

Riker thought about it silently. He knew that was the likely outcome.

"Even if you had survived, you may have come out of the experience as a different person. Who knows? Mistakes are a part of who we are. It's how we learn," said Picard.

That night, as Jean-Luc Picard went to sleep, William Riker was on his mind. Picard was very forgiving of Riker. After all, many young ensigns would probably have done exactly what Riker did. In fact, many experienced lieutenants or even captains may have felt pressure to defend a superior officer.

* * *

Picard woke up, but something didn't feel right. He didn't immediately recognize the quarters he was in. He eventually recognized them as quarters belonging to a junior officer on the _U.S.S. Enterprise_. They were slightly smaller than senior officer's quarters. The living space and the sleeping space were a large combined area, instead of separate rooms. He watched as a man woke up from his bed, and was a little surprised that he was watching himself. He looked down at his own body. It was there, but at the same time, he knew it wasn't. It was as if he was a ghost.

As scene unfolded, he watched "Picard" put on his uniform and prepare breakfast for himself. The warm beverage was a hot earl grey tea. The uniform was blue. This Picard was a lieutenant in the sciences division or medical division. He wondered whether this was supposed to be the same person he experienced life through during his near death experience.

Science Lieutenant Picard ate his breakfast and then reported to work.

"Hey Johnny," said Lt. Sarah Lipinski, Picard's office-mate. "Commander Riker was here earlier to see if you were in."

"Commander Riker?" asked Picard.

Lipinski nodded. Picard hadn't seen Riker in about a month. Picard had been recently promoted to full lieutenant, after the incident at Relay Station 47. It was very fortuitous that Picard had thought ahead and placed the station's lone shuttlecraft, the _Nemo_, away from the station. In an emergency, he would beam over to the shuttle and then warp to Starbase 212. That was exactly what he did as the _I.K.S. Qu'vat_ fired upon the lightly armored relay station. Another split second later, and Picard would have been killed in the destruction of the station. Riker was impressed by Lieutenant Picard's creativity, and he was happy that Picard's promotion board, of which Riker was the lead member, finally rewarded the assistant astrophysics officer.

"I told him you'd be in soon. He's waiting for you in briefing room B," said Lipinski, bringing Lieutenant Picard back from his thoughts of the recent past.

"Thank you, Sarah," said Picard.

Picard walked down a few corridors and made it to the meeting hub. There were three briefing rooms there, and room B was the largest one. Picard wondered what might be going on. He rang the door chime.

"Come," said Riker.

Picard walked into the room, and tugged down on the bottom of his blue shirt to flatten it out.

"Commander, sir," said Picard. He looked around, but Riker was the only person in the room. "You wanted to see me?"

"Jean-Luc," said Riker. "Please have a seat."

"Thank you, sir," said Picard.

"It dawned on me, your office is in the geo-sciences section."

"Yes sir," said Picard.

"But you're not a geologist," commented Riker. "You're an astrophysics officer. Why isn't your office in the stellar sciences section?"

"Oh," said Picard. "When I first arrived on the _Enterprise_, there was a shortage of office space in the stellar science section, but a free spot in geo-sciences. So that's where I went. Been there ever since."

"Have no offices in stellar sciences opened up since then?" asked Riker.

"I'm sure they have. But I've never been fussed about moving. Besides, I like my office-mate, Dr. Lipinski. And the chief of the geo-sciences division, Lieutenant Fulton, never minded me being in one of the offices in his section. He's a paleontologist. I used to be interested in archeology when I was at the Academy, and Fulton and I get along well."

"I saw that in your personnel file; that archeology was one of your strong classes and you've even published a paper on excavation techniques."

"When I was much younger, yes," said Picard.

Riker keyed a few things on his PADD and read the screen.

"We'll be reaching Starbase 218 in about a day," said Riker. "The new head of stellar sciences will be joining us when we make the personnel transfer at Starbase 218. We're exchanging a good deal of officers."

Picard nodded. He knew about the personnel changes. He had been hoping to be considered for the stellar sciences section chief position, but Riker just told him what he needed to know. The new head of stellar sciences would be arriving from Starbase 218. Picard wouldn't be getting the slot. But it had only been a few weeks since his promotion to full lieutenant. It was probably a little too much to ask for.

"I understand Lt. Fulton will be moving on to head a planetary post," said Riker

"Yes. He had been looking forward to a planetside assignment for quite some time now. I think he will enjoy his new post."

Riker continued to play with his PADD a little bit.

"Would you be interested in heading geosciences?" asked Riker.

Picard was a little surprised. He had given little thought to who would be replacing Lieutenant Fulton. But he never expected it to be him.

"Commander, sir," said Picard, a little hesitantly. "Like you said before, I'm not a geologist."

"I know, I know," said Riker. "But it appears you do have some background knowledge in geology. Not to mention you've spent the past few years sitting near colleagues who are knowledgeable in the area. You must've at least accidentally learned some of the nuances. And lastly, the section chief duties don't always require someone extremely knowledgeable in the exact area. Lieutenant Fulton was a paleontologist, yet he managed a team consisting of oceanographers, geologists, and atmospheric scientists. A lot of the requirements for this position are more leadership based and I think you have what it takes. Your colleagues seem to think so. I've asked them who they think would make a good section chief for geosciences. While you weren't always at the top of the list, you were consistently a first or second choice. You averaged as the preferred person, at least out of the people already onboard the _Enterprise_."

"Really?" asked Picard. He was a little surprised. He himself didn't get asked about the geosciences section chief preferences. But then again, he wasn't in the geosciences section, and the stellar sciences section head was already chosen.

Riker nodded.

"What about Dr. Lipinski?" asked Picard. "She has a little bit more seniority on this ship than I do."

"She was under consideration, but it seems like she doesn't really have the desire to be in a leadership position. Some of the others in the department sensed that, and she herself wrote it in the message she sent me when I asked everyone in geosciences who I should consider for their new chief. Some people are like that. They're content to do their work and be experts in their field, and not have to deal with the intricacies of managing other people. In fact, it seemed that prior to a few months ago, you yourself were like that."

Picard thought about it for a while, but he eventually accepted the position.

"I think you'll find that you're quite capable," said Riker.

"Thank you, sir."

* * *

"Do you need any help moving, sir?" asked Lipinski.

"No," said Picard, smiling. "And you can cut it out with the 'sirs.' I'm just the same as before."

Lipinski smiled.

Picard wasn't going to move into Fulton's office until the _Enterprise_ arrived at Starbase 218 anyway. There would be another going away party planned. A much bigger one this time. And there would probably be multiple parties. Lipinski joked that after the going away parties, there would, of course, be the welcome aboard parties for the new members of the crew. And maybe there could even be congratulatory parties for the people who got promoted. The next week would be a blur of cakes, ice cream, and continuous sugar highs.

* * *

The _U.S.S. Enterprise_ did not have an official science officer. The science department was divided into four major sections: stellar sciences, biosciences, geosciences, and social sciences. Ironically enough, most of the chemists and the physicists aboard the _Enterprise_ worked in the Engineering department, as their function was to engineer new materials, or create modifications to the engines systems, the power systems, or the weapons systems. These chemists and physicists wore the beige uniforms of the engineering department as opposed to the blue uniforms of the science department.

The four section heads reported directly to Commander Riker. Sometimes, they reported to the _Enterprise_'s Operations Officer, Lieutenant Commander Data. On extremely rare occasions, they might report to the Captain. But only if the fate of the universe literally hung on the balance.

Once a month, the four section heads met to discuss the goings-on within their sections. Two weeks after leaving Starbase 218, a science department section chiefs meeting took place. They had the meeting in Briefing Room B.

The chiefs of the biosciences and social sciences sections had remained the same. They were both full lieutenants, like Picard. The new stellar sciences chief wound up being the highest ranking person out of the four of them. Lieutenant Commander Neela Daren.

The three lieutenants welcomed Daren to the _Enterprise_.

The section chiefs then discussed the ongoing projects within their sections. Daren had a quite an ambitious project planned for stellar sciences.

"Lieutenant Picard," said Daren. "May I ask why the three senior members of your section seem to have different projects going on simultaneously when they could be working together on one major project?"

"Right now, there isn't one major project they are interested in pursuing."

"Don't you think it's your job as the section chief to design a major project that would utilize all of their talents together?"

"I think it would be better for now to let them pursue their own research topics. They've been working on their own projects for a few months now. There's no need to shift them onto a new project."

"To be blunt, it is my opinion that you were given your posting out of sympathy," said Daren. "The Captain and Commander Riker felt bad about sending you over to Relay Station 47 and thought bumping you to section chief would make up for it. You have very little leadership experience. You had one stint at a small archeological dig many years ago as the second-in-command while you were an ensign just a few years out of the Academy. Then decades of hard work, but no leadership roles until just a couple of months ago when you became the officer-in-charge of the relay station. For a brief time, you had one subordinate. I am not sure you warranted the section chief position."

"Well, I guess it's a good thing for me that you don't get to decide such things, ma'am," said Picard.

Daren stared at him for a few seconds, but then changed the subject. She felt a little bad for being somewhat harsh. She could see that the life sciences chief, a microbiologist, was tempted to defend his colleague Picard.

For the next topic of the meeting, the four of them discussed staffing levels and whether there might be a need or preference to transfer any of the junior scientists from one project to another. It was decided to keep everyone in their current posting.

The last topic of the meeting was discussing the resource requirements of the various sections. Stellar sciences would be requesting a lot of the ship's power systems to be diverted for their major project. But they would only do so during the overnight shift, so as not to inconvenience the rest of the ship's crew. There was a joint study by Dr. Lipinski in oceanography and Dr. Rodgers, the marine biologist in the biosciences section, to use the holodeck for a simulation in about a week.

The four of them then adjourned the meeting.

* * *

The next day, Commander Daren visited Lieutenant Picard in his new office, the one that used to belong to Lieutenant Fulton and was right next to Picard's old office.

Picard had been reviewing a report by his section's junior geologist, an expert on volcanoes. Perhaps his team did in fact have interests that were too disparate. But he still considered it to be the better choice to allow the officers in his section to carry on with their preferred research unless a major team-wide research project came up. No need in artificially making up major projects just to get the team together.

"Lieutenant Picard," said Daren, "may I have a word in private."

"Please, come in," said Picard.

Daren walked into Picard's small office and the doors closed behind her.

"Lieutenant," said Daren, "I wanted to apologize for perhaps being too harsh yesterday at the section chiefs meeting. While I am not sure of your management skills, I know you are a knowledgeable scientist and a good officer. If the captain and the first officer have faith in you, I should as well."

"Thank you, commander," said Picard. "I must admit that there were times when I also wondered whether I should be in this post. Truth be told, though, I was previously thinking that that I should be the stellar sciences chief. No offense, of course. It's just that I used to be an astrophysics officer. "

Daren nodded. "Yes, I saw that on your personnel file."

"I think your project is quite interesting. If you ever need a second pair of eyes on any of your data or theories, please feel free to let me have a look."

Daren was a little surprised. She didn't think that Picard would be willing to help her after she had just criticized his posting as geosciences chief.

"Thank you, lieutenant," she said. "Perhaps I will take you up on your offer sometime."

* * *

A few days later, Picard joined some members of the crew for a classical music concert in Ten Forward. He wasn't a big fan of classical music, but he knew he had to get out once in a while. Although he was quite outgoing as a youth, for some reason, Picard had grown a little more cloistered as he grew older. Dr. Lipinski was a fan of Commander Data's violin performances, and so Picard thought he would join her this evening.

As the concert started, Picard was surprised to see that Commander Daren was one of the musicians. She played the piano.

Picard enjoyed the concert. It wasn't great, and he still wouldn't be a big fan of classical music. But he found it somewhat enjoyable. Perhaps he would attend another in the future. Probably in the distant future. After the concert, Picard stayed with Lipinski for a drink or two, but then retired to his quarters. Lipinski and two of her other friends hung out for the rest of the reception.

* * *

The next day, Commander Daren stopped by Picard's office.

"Hey, I thought I caught a glimpse of you at the concert yesterday night," said Daren.

Picard nodded. "I was there with Sarah."

"I didn't see you afterwards."

Picard nodded again. "Mingling isn't one of my strong suits."

While Picard was a friendly person, he seemed he was a little more interested in reading scientific journals than he was with socializing. By nature, he was an introvert. However, he was someone that social scientists might label as a "well-adjusted introvert." Someone who understood that socializing was important, and could do it well. It just took him energy to do so.

"You should stay out next time," said Daren.

"Maybe next time," said Picard. He gave a smile, but he knew that next time would be a long time away.

Daren scanned Picard's office and noticed a flute-like instrument on the desk behind him.

"Is that a flute?" asked Daren.

Picard nodded. "Yes. It's a replica of one from an archeological site I worked on many years ago."

Next to the flute were a couple of other artifacts. A few coins, mostly silver. A small sculpture of some sort.

"Do you play the flute?"

"Not really," said Picard. "I can do a few simple songs."

"Well, I'll see you around, lieutenant," said Daren.

"Oh, I noticed your group was taking up the computer library resources a couple of nights ago," said Picard.

"That was very late night, what were you doing up?"

"Just reviewing a few of the progress reports on the various projects here. How is it going with your stellar cartography project?"

"I think we're making progress."

"That's good to hear."

Daren left Picard's office and walked through the other sections of the _Enterprise_'s science division before reaching her own office on the opposite side of the deck.

* * *

Several months passed and Picard developed a friendship with Commander Daren. Surprisingly, they got along well. Strangely enough, the two even became sort of best friends. Lipinski had been intrigued, especially after she heard about the rough first encounter between the two of them. But she eventually got used to the idea and was glad that her close colleague did things other than work or academic pursuits during his spare time.

Lieutenant Picard was requested to arrive at the _Enterprise_'s Observation Lounge. It was a strange request. He had never been there. Ever.

When Picard entered, he saw that Commander Riker was seated along with an admiral that he did not recognize. Riker introduced the admiral.

"Rear Admiral Erik Pressman, this is Lieutenant Jean-Luc Picard. Lieutenant Picard, Admiral Pressman is currently the associate director at Starfleet Intelligence, the third highest ranking officer there."

The two men shook hands, and Picard was invited to take a seat.

"Lieutenant Picard," said Pressman. "We are about to discuss a highly classified project and you are not to discuss this with any of your superiors. This includes Captain Halloway."

"I understand," said Picard.

Pressman slid a PADD over to Picard. It contained a strategic report written over a decade ago.

"Do you recognize this report?" asked Pressman.

Picard scrolled through it. He did.

"Yes. This was a report I co-authored with three other scientists about fifteen years ago." Picard had been a junior scientist on a small team that was tasked to envision what types of starship technology could be in play in the coming decades.

"You may be surprised to know, the report was noticed by Starfleet Security when it was authored."

"Really?" asked a surprised Picard.

"Yes. Engineers worked on a prototype device and we installed it on the _U.S.S. Pegasus_ twelve years ago."

"A phase inversion cloak?" asked Picard. "It was highly theoretical."

"Yes," said Pressman. "Although we previously thought the experiment resulted in the loss of the _Pegasus_, debris from the ship was recently discovered in the Devolin system. The _Enterprise_ is heading there right now."

"But…" said a hesitant Picard. "The device wasn't meant to be installed on a Starfleet vessel. The report was a war games hypothetical as to the advance technology that the Klingons might develop. They never did. Frankly, the four of us were tasked to come up with relatively outlandish scenarios."

Admiral Pressman asked Picard to turn to another report that was on the PADD, this one was from Starfleet Intelligence. Picard read through the intelligence report. It turned out that the Klingons did indeed experiment with combining a molecular phase inverter with a cloaking device. The Klingons eventually abandoned their research into this area after several accidents. A third report on the PADD actually came from the _U.S.S. Enterprise_, regarding an event two years prior. The after-engagement report detailed how the _Enterprise_ came to the aid of a Romulan science vessel which had tried to develop an interphase generator. The science vessel was damaged and sent out a distress call. While Enterprise officers assisted with repairs, Lieutenant Commander La Forge and Ensign Ro Laren were contaminated with chronitons and out of phase when they were beamed back to the _Enterprise_. Thought to have perished at first, Lieutenant Commander Data eventually figured out the situation and helped the two out of phase officers return to normal phase.

"Our enemies are certainly pursuing the technology," said Pressman.

"And you'd like to level the playing field?" asked an intrigued Picard.

"Yes. When we beam over to the _Pegasus_, I would like you and Riker to join me. If we can get our hands on the prototype device, perhaps we can figure out what went wrong twelve years ago."

Picard could see that Riker wasn't completely comfortable with the idea. He thought perhaps it was because Riker didn't completely trust the lieutenant with such a vital task.

"Wouldn't the device violate some sort of Starfleet regulation?" asked Picard. He wasn't completely sure, but he thought there was something in there about not experimenting with cloaking devices.

"We're covered on that front," said Pressman. "Once again, this project is highly classified and compartmentalized. You cannot speak of this to anyone. We are authorized from the highest levels of Starfleet Command to pursue this experiment."

Picard wasn't thrilled, but he could see that Admiral Pressman was quite enthusiastic about the potential innovation. Picard agreed to help Pressman if his assistance was required.

* * *

That night, Picard had dinner with Daren.

"I heard you were called in to meet with Rear Admiral Pressman earlier in the day," she said.

Picard nodded. "Yes, that's true."

"What about?"

"I'm sorry, I'm not allowed to talk about it."

"Oh," said Daren.

Daren could tell that Picard was distracted. He was picking a little bit at his food with his fork. He didn't have much of an appetite.

"Is it something dangerous?" asked Daren.

"I'm not entirely sure," said Picard, honestly. "It could be. Perhaps not for me personally, but maybe for others."

Daren put her hand on Picard's.

"Jean-Luc. If you don't feel comfortable doing something, then maybe you shouldn't do it."

Picard said he would think about it overnight. He thanked Daren for the dinner, and walked back to his quarters. He thought about his situation. He understood what Pressman was trying to achieve. It wasn't just paranoia in the ranks of the admiralty. The Federation had enemies, and innovative weaponry or equipment was important. Even if not as a counter to the Romulans, then maybe other enemies like the Borg or some other unforeseen force. At the same time, he knew that the officials in the Federation government signed a treaty in which they agreed that Starfleet wouldn't pursue cloaking technology. They should follow that treaty in good faith.

He was a little distracted and almost missed passing by his former officemate.

"Hey Johnny," said Lipinski.

"Oh, hi Sarah," he said.

"How's it going?" she asked.

"Not bad. Not bad," said Picard.

Picard's combadge chirped.

"Lieutenant Picard to the bridge."

Picard tapped his combadge. "Acknowledged."

"Ooh," said Lipinski. "Fancy. To the bridge," she teased.

Picard waved it off and headed to the nearest turbolift. He had never been called to the bridge before.

* * *

"That's the _Pegasus_ all right," remarked Pressman.

La Forge had detected a subspace resonance signature coming from within asteroid gamma 601 that turned out to be the _Pegasus_. The asteroid was large and contained deep chasms that were large enough for a starship to enter. Commander Data surmised that the asteroids gravitational field caught the _Pegasus_ and pulled her inside.

Captain Halloway noticed that Picard just arrived on the bridge.

"Sir," said Picard. He wasn't sure the captain even knew his name.

"Captain," said Pressman. "Lieutenant Picard will be acting as my aide during this mission. As he is the head of geosciences and the _Pegasus_ appears to be have crashed inside an asteroid, I think his knowledge will come in handy."

Halloway nodded. After all, an asteroid is a giant rock formation floating in space. Although Picard's original background specialty was archeology, by now, he had amassed a thorough understanding of geology.

Before the senior officers of the _Enterprise_ could investigate further, a Romulan warbird was detected heading their way. It would take the _Enterprise_ a much longer time to determine the precise location of the _Pegasus_.

Commander Riker suggests that the asteroid be destroyed, but Admiral Pressman rejects that suggestion, as he does not want to destroy the _Pegasus_.

"Perhaps we could flood the asteroid with verterons," suggested Lieutenant Picard. "Would that obstruct the Romulan sensors?"

"It would," replied Data. "But the Romulans would be able to see through that, since verterons would not normally be present."

La Forge suggests that they use ionizing radiation instead. It would have the same effect to interfere with sensors but it wouldn't look suspicious since there was plenty of ionizing radiation already present in the nearby area. Halloway approves and the _Enterprise_ is able to mask the _Pegasus_ before the Romulan warbird arrives.

While Picard was a little taken aback by how quickly Data had found fault with his verteron suggestion, Picard knew that the android meant no harm. Anyway, the solution was eventually found, and Picard felt like he contributed.

* * *

Picard returned to his quarters after his brief time on the bridge. The _Enterprise_ was going to fake a random search through the asteroid field while the Romulans moved further from sensor range. The _Enterprise_ would return to gamma 601 at a later time.

Picard wanted to take a brief nap before the action started up again.

Picard had only been able to sleep for about three hours when he woke up and found that he couldn't return to sleep. He got dressed and decided to head to his office. The _Enterprise_ had taken some preliminary readings of the _Pegasus_ before she masked the asteroid with radiation and sped away. Picard wanted to review some of those readings.

He was surprised when he bumped into Commander Riker in the corridors.

"Commander, sir," said Picard.

"Lieutenant," said Riker, who nodded to acknowledge Picard.

It appeared that Riker had just exited from one of the _Enterprise_'s holodecks. Picard then decided that he wanted to have a word in private with Riker.

"Sir, do you think I can have a word with you?" asked Picard.

"Sure," said Riker. The two of them walked to the science department's meeting hub and found Briefing Room B unoccupied.

"What's on your mind?" asked Riker.

"Sir, I have been thinking about your advice to me almost a year ago, when you advised that I should be more of a risk-taker; to stand out from the crowd. I believe that helping Admiral Pressman with this experiment may allow me to do just that and perhaps even further my career. At the same time, I'm not sure how appropriate it is for Starfleet to be pursuing this type of technology. I understand that the Federation has enemies, and that those enemies are also pursuing this type of technology. These types of opportunities don't come by very often, and I am afraid I might be reverting back to my old self where I played it safe my whole career. How do you think I should approach this?"

"I understand your reservations," said Riker. "Truth be told, I have been thinking about our situation as well. The only thing I can suggest to you, lieutenant, is for you to follow what you think is the right course of action. No doubt there are arguments on both sides of this."

"But you think this is an important innovative technology, right?" asked Picard.

"When I was much younger, yes. Now, well, I'm not so sure."

"I see," said Picard. Part of him knew Riker might say that, seeing as how Riker suggested that the _Enterprise_ destroy the entire asteroid several hours ago.

Riker could see that the lieutenant would rather be ordered to take a specific course of action, and not have to deal with making this decision himself.

"Jean-Luc. You mentioned that one day, you would like to command. While I can't promise you a command lies in your future, you are part way there. One of the things you have to get used to is making decisions for yourself. Yes, there are those who outrank you and you should obey their orders and seek their guidance. But one character trait of a command officer is their independent thinking. You need to evaluate this situation for yourself and decide on your own."

"I understand," said Picard.

After a few seconds of silence, Riker asked Picard a personal question.

"I've been meaning to ask you," said Riker. "About a year ago, when you decided to be more assertive and even seek a path to a command post one day, what made you change so suddenly and drastically? You've become a significantly different person."

"This may sound silly, but I think I was spurred by a dream," said Picard.

"A dream?" asked Riker.

"Well, maybe more like a fever induced hallucination," said Picard. "A day or so before I approached you and Counselor Troi in Ten Forward to ask for an honest assessment of my abilities and my future career, I and an ensign in the life sciences section were exposed to a virus by accident. We fell into a severe fever and were both sent to sickbay."

"And you had some kind of hallucination?"

Picard nodded. "Yes. I believed I had died. And in my afterlife, I met with an angel of some sort. At first, he seemed a little rough around the edges. He was quite rude to me, saying he was disappointed that I never met my full potential. Then he showed me an alternate life in which the outcome of one incident in my youth made me a much different person over the years. I had been confronted with a taste of death, and realized that I wouldn't live forever. That I couldn't wait for things to happen. I had to make them happen."

"And in this different timeline, you were a commander?"

"Strangely enough, I was the captain of the _Enterprise_," said Lieutenant Picard.

Riker's face showed that he was intrigued.

"It appears that as a young officer, the other version of me led an away team to rescue an ambassador. Then, as the helm officer of the _U.S.S. Stargazer_, I stepped in as a temporary captain when both the captain and the first officer were incapacitated. I commanded the _Stargazer_ for many years before I became the captain of the _Enterprise_. My career had been entirely different. All because I was took more initiative and was more assertive."

"I see. That's an interesting dream," said Riker.

"It felt very real. When I awoke from the fever, I knew I had been given a glimpse of the person I could be if I only had more ambition. So here I am. I do not realistically believe I will somehow rise to command the _Enterprise_. But even as a chief of one of the science sections, I think I've become a more valuable and contributing member of the _Enterprise_'s officer ranks."

"I like to stress to all the junior officers that every member of the _Enterprise_'s crew plays an important role on the team. But you're right, some roles are more important than others. I'm glad you decided to take more initiative. It's never too late."

"I agree," said Picard.

The two of them went their separate ways and pondered what they should do about the interphase cloaking experiments.

* * *

Picard struggled with his dilemma. He didn't necessarily want to derail Admiral Pressman's experiment. He just didn't feel comfortable being involved. He requested a meeting with Admiral Pressman to discuss his reservations.

"Lieutenant, please have a seat," said Pressman. They met in the _Enterprise_'s observation lounge.

"Admiral, sir," said Picard as he took a seat across from the admiral.

"What's on your mind?" asked Pressman.

"I was wondering if I might be excused from this particular mission," said Picard.

"And why would you want that?" asked Pressman.

"I'm just not sure this is something I'd like to participate in," said Picard.

"You know, lieutenant, I've been reading up on your personnel file," said Pressman. "You held great promise at the beginning of your career. Somewhere, you decided to just drift. It looked like you changed that recently. I thought you'd appreciate this new opportunity to shine."

"I do appreciate the chance very much, sir," said Picard. "It's just I don't think it's right for me."

"I see," said Pressman.

"Of course, I will not breach the secrecy of the _Pegasus_ mission to any of my other superiors. I understand the nature of the mission and will not compromise it," said Picard.

"I thank you for that," said Pressman. Though, he knew that Picard was more likely acting out of fear than anything else. There were orders too keep it quiet. Before Picard could stand from his chair, Pressman thought he'd try one more tack to convince Picard to assist him in the mission.

"Lieutenant, there was one more topic I wanted to discuss about your personnel file," said the admiral.

Picard acquiesced. "Sure, sir."

"I saw that your 'contact in case of emergency' person was recently updated. It looks like prior to the Relay Station 47 incident, it was your family on Earth. A few months ago, you changed it to a Lieutenant Commander Neela Daren. Girlfriend?" asked Pressman.

"No," said Picard. Pressman could see that Picard was a little embarrassed. Picard's cheeks had turned a little bit red and his body language changed a little bit. "She's a colleague of mine on the _Enterprise_. I figured it might be better to have an emergency contact onboard in case there was a situation which required a fast response. A medical decision, perhaps. Someone on Earth might be hard to get a hold of."

"I see," said Pressman. "I do apologize for the personal nature of the question. I was just wondering because, well, it dawned on me that she outranks you."

Picard wasn't completely sure what the admiral was getting at.

"Her career trajectory has progressed faster and higher than yours," continued Pressman. "While that may not be an issue for her, I was thinking perhaps you'd like an opportunity to catch up. Perhaps your relationship would improve if you both were closer to equals."

Picard remained silent. Pressman was definitely trying to put on the pressure.

"Who knows?" said Pressman. "If we manage to figure out this interphase cloak, you might even be put in for Lieutenant Commander. Maybe become first officer of a science ship like the _Pegasus_. Big moments like this can make a commander. Give it some thought."

Pressman could see that Picard was now considering his options.

"Or…" continued Pressman. "I can see that your first passion was archeology. You've kept up on it lately and even collaborated on a scientific article about field surveys in one of the ancient ruins of Betazed. Perhaps you can command a small planetary survey vessel. You just never know the doors that can be opened for you. And a movement up the ranks is never a bad thing in terms of gaining more attention from someone you are romantically interested in."

Pressman saw that Picard was now hooked. Reluctant as Picard may be to participate in the _Pegasus_ mission, he wasn't going to be fully satisfied with a ceiling on his career. Picard agreed to help Pressman.

"Wonderful. I knew you'd come around," said Pressman, smiling.

* * *

Three people beamed down into the _Pegasus_' engineering section. Pressman, Riker, and Picard. Captain Halloway had initially proposed a larger away team, but Pressman countered that request and said that the three of them would be sufficient.

Pressman and Riker seemed to know exactly where the device would be, while Picard followed the two of them. As they walked toward the device, Riker examined some of the rock formations that appeared to have been embedded into the walls. Picard knew that such a thing couldn't naturally occur. Riker opined that the interphase cloak had been activated when Pressman and a handful of his officers were forced to abandon the ship after a mutiny by the senior officers. The _Pegasus_ must have been phase shifted as it was passing through the asteroid, but then for whatever reason, the device turned off and the _Pegasus _phased into the middle of the asteroid.

Riker seemed to have been affected by the thought of the officers and crewmen who may have phased partially into the asteroid. He also wondered what a terrifying experience it must've been for them.

Pressman brushed it off, partially blaming the mutineers themselves for the predicament.

"Come on, help me with the device," said Pressman.

Picard watched as Riker and Pressman disconnected the device from the main console. It was cylindrical in shape and about waist high, much smaller than Picard would have imagined.

Pressman then tapped him combadge.

"Pressman to _Enterprise_, three people and one piece of equipment to beam over directly to cargo bay 4."

The three officers and the device shimmered as they were beamed off the _Pegasus_.

* * *

Commander Riker returned to the bridge as Admiral Pressman and Lieutenant Picard worked in Cargo Bay 4 and started running diagnostics on the device's systems.

"Perhaps it would speed things up if we brought in some of the _Enterprise_'s engineers," suggested Picard.

"No, lieutenant," said Pressman, a little on the adamant side. "This experiment must stay under wraps until we figure out how to successfully operate the device."

Pressman then shared that although Starfleet Intelligence and some members of Starfleet Command authorized the experiment, not everyone in Command HQ had been briefed. In addition, the device was intended to be used only by Starfleet's Special Operations Directorate, for SEAL incursion vessels. It was probably also going to be used on small scout vessels sailed by intelligence agents. It was not technology that Starfleet Intelligence wanted the fleet at large to be aware of. This included even Starfleet flagships.

The two of them didn't get much time to evaluate the device. After about a minute and a half, the _Enterprise_ shook a little bit and Admiral Pressman was called to the bridge. Pressman asked Picard to join him.

As the two of them reached the bridge, they found out that as the _Enterprise_ was preparing to leave the asteroid, the Romulan warbird had "accidentally" sealed the _Enterprise_ inside.

"We can use the phasers to cut through the rock," suggested Lieutenant Worf.

"That is inadvisable," commented Commander Data. "We might accidentally collapse the entire passage and crush the _Enterprise_."

When no other alternative was suggested, Commander Riker then explained that the device they beamed back from the _Pegasus_ was an interphasic cloaking device. If it could be activated, it might help the _Enterprise_ escape their current predicament.

Captain Halloway realizes why the mission was so secretive. He mentions to the admiral that the experimental cloak was in violation of the Treaty of Algeron. Pressman orders Halloway and the rest of the bridge officers to keep the experiment a secret.

"The safety of this ship and her crew are my top priority," said Halloway to Pressman. He then turned to Riker. "Do you think the device can be adapted to the _Enterprise_?"

"I am confident that it can be. However, there appears to have been an accident onboard the _Pegasus_, and we should be careful. I think Lieutenant Picard might be able to assist."

Halloway was a little bit curious about Picard involvement in this, but he decided he would inquire about that later. Right now, he had to figure out the device so that the _Enterprise_ could escape from the asteroid.

"It might also help if we could get Commanders Data and La Forge to take a look and see if they could contribute any insight," said Picard.

Halloway agreed. "We'll have the device moved to main engineering," he said.

"Please, make that so, sir," said Picard.

Riker and Pressman would stay on the bridge as Data and Picard walked toward the turbolift. Halloway walked over to the captain's chair and took a seat. As Picard walked past Riker, Riker asked "please make that so?"

"Was that not polite enough," asked Picard.

Riker shook his head. "It's just that I've never heard that before. Sounds like there is some type of grammar problem with that." Riker smiled, and then let the two officers take the turbolift to main engineering.

* * *

After about an hour, the device was safely connected to the _Enterprise_. Everything seemed to be in working order. The only thing to be careful with was monitoring the cooler levels to make sure the plasma relay system wouldn't get overheated and possibly blow out. Commander Riker theorizes that what he and Pressman saw twelve years earlier was probably a plasma explosion. Because the _Pegasus_ went into a cloak after the plasma explosion, Pressman and Riker had thought that the ship was destroyed.

Riker stood on the bridge, a little bit nervous. He hoped that the device wouldn't suddenly fail and leave the _Enterprise_ embedded inside solid rock like the _Pegasus_.

"Engineering to bridge," came Data's voice. "We are ready."

"Good. Engage the cloak," said Halloway.

Once the device was brought online, the _Enterprise_ is successfully cloaked. Slowly, the large starship moved through the rocky obstruction and eventually cleared the asteroid and made it into open space safely.

"Helm, get us the hell out of here," said Halloway. "Engage."

The _Enterprise_ warped away from the asteroid field.

"How will Starfleet explain our disappearance to the Romulans?" wondered Riker.

"Who cares?" said Halloway. "Let those jerks babysit an empty asteroid for days."

After having gone through such a serious ordeal, Riker was glad that his captain was able to joke in this situation. Karma can be cruel, and it served the Romulans right for "accidentally" sealing the _Enterprise_ inside the asteroid.

However, the scene soon turned serious as Halloway turned to Pressman.

"Rear Admiral Pressman, it is my unfortunate duty to confine you to quarters and charge you with breaching the Treaty of Algeron. You have the right to remain silent, but anything you do say may be used against you. You have the right to an attorney, and the Starfleet JAG Corps will provide you with an adequate defense. Do you understand these rights as I have read them to you?"

"You're joking, right captain?" said a puzzled Pressman.

"I regret to say that I am not."

Lieutenant Worf escorted the admiral to his quarters.

"William," said Halloway. "I need both you and Lieutenant Picard to report to the brig."

Riker had been expecting that he would have to be confined as well.

"Captain," said Riker. "I want it on the record that Picard was following orders. Face to face orders from both me and Admiral Pressman, and written orders from Admiral Raner, the head of Starfleet Security."

"I fully understand," said Halloway. "I myself was under orders from Admiral Blackwell. But the two of you had a duty to the safety of this ship and to report a violation of a Treaty. I am sure JAG will eventually clear you both, but this is protocol, William."

Riker nodded and headed toward the turbolift.

* * *

Counselor Troi and Lieutenant Commander Daren walked to the brig together. They were soon joined by Captain Halloway.

"You know, if women ran things, these types of shenanigans would never happen," said Daren to Troi.

Troi agreed. "If only we lived in a more enlightened universe."

Halloway ordered the two guards on brig duty to lower the forcefields to the two holding cells. Troi and Daren hugged Riker and Picard, respectively.

"You'll forgive me if I don't hug you," said the captain.

The four other officers walked out of the holding cells and into the main area of the brig to join the captain.

"Starfleet Command has decided to expunge both of your records of this particular incident. You are both free to go," said Halloway. "This incident never happened. You are not to talk of it ever again."

"I was wondering," said Riker. "How will Starfleet explain to the Romulans about the how the _Enterprise_ escaped the asteroid?"

"The official cover story is this: Starfleet Tactical Ops was testing a new remotely piloted drone. While it is very small in size, about the size of a shuttlecraft, it is capable of sending out false sensor signals to make it appear as if it were a much larger starship. In that way, hostile starships would not dare approach the drone, especially if they were to be deployed in squadrons of 5 or more. The drone "pretended" to be the _Enterprise_ while investigating the asteroid. It remains trapped somewhere in the asteroid gamma 601."

"Clever," said Picard. He knew exactly where Starfleet Tactical got that idea. One of his friends from the Academy, Cortin Zweller, had shared such an idea with Picard a couple of months ago. Picard wondered whether such drones actually existed or were in the planning phases of being created. Picard later learned that because the Tal Shiar had already discovered the drone program, Starfleet didn't mind using it as a cover for the interphase cloak incident. They wanted to keep the cloak incident under wraps so that the Treaty of Algeron would not be endangered.

"Will Special Ops or Intel actually get to use the interphase cloak?" asked Riker.

"I'm sure they'd love to. I've reported the incident to the Chief of Fleet Operations. It seems he may have been one of the few at Starfleet Command who was not aware of the experiment. He was not amused. He will most likely order the experiments suspended," said Halloway. The Chief of Fleet Operations was the highest ranking uniformed Starfleet officer.

* * *

Two days later, it was "Science Day" on the _Enterprise_. It was for the children. At first, there was almost a Captain Halloway Day. But he artfully declined and transformed it into Science Day, to get the kids interested in becoming scientists. The main exhibits were displayed in Holodeck One.

Each of the section chiefs gave a brief presentation at the beginning, and then the children spread out to the exhibits that they were most interested in. Picard was happy to do the Science Day festivities with Lipinski, but he knew the kids weren't really interested in geosciences as much as the stellar sciences and the biosciences. It seemed like today, stellar science was the most popular. The majority of the children went over to the stellar sciences exhibits. Picard could see they were excited and all proudly wore the pin the said "shoot for the stars!" It made sense. After all, this was a starship and exploring the stars was what the kids knew of. The kids who were more oriented to the space defense aspects of Starfleet's mission probably wouldn't be attending a science fair.

The biosciences exhibits also had a handful of children. To his surprise, two children walked over to Picard's exhibits.

"And what are your names?" asked Picard.

"I am Marissa," said a girl, aged ten. "This is my friend Calvin."

"I'm Jean-Luc," said Picard. He bent down slightly to shake both of their hands.

The two children were excited about dinosaurs and knew that scientists often had to carefully dig through layers and layers of rock to find fossils. Later, Marissa also asked questions about precious gemstones and how they were formed. While Picard and Lipinski weren't experts in either of those topics, they knew a great deal. Picard's archeology background helped him explain the various steps to excavating to find dinosaur fossils. Both fields were also considered to involved similar combinations of geology and biology. Lipinski's oceanography studies often involved collaborations with marine biologists, so she was knowledgeable about marine life and even about prehistoric undersea creatures.

The final discussion was about geological factors helping to explain how some species became extinct, or evolved to fit their environments. That had more of a biology twist to it, but Picard wanted the children to know that even if they chose to specialize in one type of science, all of the sciences overlapped in some way. At the end of the "roaming around" period, Marissa and Calvin rejoined their classmates to hear a departing speech from Captain Halloway, who would encourage the children to pursue their interest in the sciences.

Vastly outnumbered by the children wearing the "shoot for the stars" pin and the children who wore a pin with a drawing of a DNA strand, Picard smiled when he saw Marissa and Calvin proudly displaying on their chests small pins that said "geology rocks!"

* * *

After the science fair, Picard and Daren had dinner together.

"The science fair was a success!" said Daren. Although she was only the chief of the stellar sciences section, as the highest ranking science division officer onboard the Enterprise, she was sometimes seen as representing the entire division. The division's success was her success. The only thing she failed at was getting the social sciences section to create a catchy slogan or logo for a kids pin.

"Science Day was fun," said Picard. "I look forward to next year's Science Day."

"Wait a minute," said Daren. "You mean to tell me that you are no longer looking to move up the ranks as fast as possible to command your own starship? For all you know, by this time next year, you will captain a ship. And just think, if there are children onboard, there will be a Captain Picard Day! You would be a role model, of course."

Picard laughed.

"I don't think I would want a Captain Picard Day," he said. "The truth is, I think I will be content to live out life as a middle management section chief. Commanding the flagship of the Federation is an honor for sure, but comes with responsibilities I couldn't imagine. What if Pressman was right? What if we need that cloak? I'm not sure those types of decisions are something I'd be eager to make."

"Middle management," teased Daren. "Didn't Vice Admiral Dougherty contact you recently about promoting you to Lieutenant Commander and heading up a dig somewhere?"

Picard was surprised she knew about that. Not even Pressman knew about that.

"Didn't get a lot of details," said Picard. "It was a project to find some type of particle that would suspend the aging process, or significantly slow it down. Sounded intriguing. The admiral said it probably wouldn't be up and running for another year, maybe longer. In the meantime, I will be happy to be the geosciences chief here on the _Enterprise_."

* * *

Captain Jean-Luc Picard gently awoke from his dream. He found his alternate self to be an interesting individual. Though, he wouldn't trade his real life for anything. He loved being the captain of the _Enterprise_, and although there was great responsibility on his shoulders, he relished making decisions for the betterment of the Federation.

The captain strode over to his desk and turned on his computer console. After changing out of his sleepwear and putting on his red uniform, he decided to call up an old friend and see how she was doing.

"Computer," said Picard. "Please give me the last posting for Lieutenant Commander Neela Daren."


End file.
